The decoding of encoded visual images has been used, in various forms, for some time for novelty items, teaching aids and other related purposes. Various systems have been developed to provide these decoding capabilities as shown by the following examples.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,714,275, issued to Engel et al., discloses a toy sticker collection album that comes with a removable viewer secured in the album, the viewer having a tinted transparent filter. The album contains photographic half-tone images printed in a first color with a second color pattern design printed over the half-tone images providing a camouflaging or obscuring effect. The filter can be placed over the photographic half-tone images so that they can be viewed. The user can select images to be purchased for collecting in the album.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,865,001, issued to Long et al. is directed to many embodiments of a system and method for encoding and decoding an image or document using holographic or diffractive means. The encoded image can be revealed using a transparent screen that has an array of opaque shapes that normally may be geometric. The shapes can vary in size or spacing and may vary from being readily viewable to too small to be seen with the unaided eye. The shapes can use a plurality of apparent gray levels and may have variable gray levels across each shape. A given document can have areas that require different screens for revealing the encoded areas.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,273,473, issued to Taylor et al. discloses self-verifying security documents. These self-verifying security documents have a transparent window 5 located so that the flexible document can be folded and the window located over a security device 4 located on the document. The window has a self-verifying means 11 that can be an optical lens that is Fresnel, a micro-lens array, or a lenticle lens. Any of the lenses can have a distorted view so as to correct for a distorted security device. The window can have a UV coating or an optical filter that is tinted or polarized. The polarized filter can be used for viewing polarized security devices and the tinted filters could be used for verifying metameric ink patterns. The filter can have a set of lines that form an interference effect with lines on the security device providing a Moiré pattern. The transmission of light through superimposed inclined lines can also produce the appearance of dark bands known as Talbot fringes.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,692,031, issued to McGrew, is directed to the use of quantum dots for fluorescent taggants. Quantum dot taggants can be used to make a UV curable ink by suspending the dots in a transparent UV curable resin. The ink can be used to make patterns of spectrally varying fluorescence. The ink can be read with a reader having a light of a suitable wavelength. The pattern can be viewed or a diffraction grating can be used to analyze the spectral and temporal properties of the ink.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,296,900, issued to Barnhart et al, discloses a method of making a hidden image game piece that can be revealed by flooding the image with light of the same color as the pattern's ink. An image using colored ink is deposited on a transparent or highly translucent substrate. A second pattern of colored ink of a different color is deposited on the substrate at a lower density and over at least a portion of the first pattern. When the piece is flooded with additive light of the same color as the second pattern's ink, the previously concealed image composed of the first pattern's ink becomes perceivable. A computer monitor or other low intensity source of additive light may be used to flood the piece.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,784,289, issued to Wicker, is directed to a method and apparatus for hiding and viewing half-tone images. Three half-tone images with similar frequencies are printed on a substrate. The first image is an overall half-tone at a given angle. The second image is a negative half-tone of the image to be hidden with the image at an angle to the first half-tone. The third image is the image to be hidden at a third angle and coincident with the negative portion of the second half-tone. The three half-tone components give a uniform appearance to the eye obscuring the image. The three half-tone components can be put on one plate if a single color is to be used. The image may be readily detected by using a screen having the same periodic pattern of similar frequency as the half-tones. When the screen is arranged at an angle of the half-tone screen of the hidden image, the hidden image can be made to appear as a bright image against a darker background. When the screen is arranged at the same angle as the background half-tone screen, the hidden image can be made to appear as a darker image against a brighter background. In either orientation, when the screen is moved parallel to the periodic pattern, the image will appear to blink.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,223,958, issued to Berry, discloses a heat activated amusement device employing micro-encapsulated thermochromic liquid crystals. A transparent film can have a visual image printed by conventional techniques for viewing through its first surface. A layer of micro-encapsulated thermochromic liquid crystal material is placed against the second surface of the film. A supporting substrate is added having substantially the same color as the printed message or visual image of the transparent film. The substrate 13 may be formed from any suitable material from which one desired the hidden message or visual image to appear upon heating. The amusement device can be heated by conductive heat transferred from a person's body. The thermochromic material starts off transparent and the image cannot be distinguished from the substrate. As it is heated, it goes through the visual spectrum whereby the image can be viewed because of the contrast until finally the thermochromic material reaches the temperature at which it becomes transparent again and the image cannot be distinguished from the substrate.
It is an objective of the present invention to provide a means for decoding optically or digitally encoded visual images on a printed page. It is a further objective to provide a system that allows for use of a single decoding lens with multiple images. It is a still further objective of the invention to provide a system that can decode 3-D images, those simulating motion and other optical special effects. Finally, it is an objective to provide a system that can be easily and inexpensively manufactured that produces full color images.
While some of the objectives of the present invention are disclosed in the prior art, none of the inventions found include all of the requirements identified.